


Dreams and Reality

by NoGoodTuna



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Alternate Universe - America, Drama, Eventual Romance, Friends to Lovers, Future Fic, Hobby Shop AU, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-04-14 06:46:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14130399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoGoodTuna/pseuds/NoGoodTuna
Summary: Kamui Katsuragi has been running the first international branch of Card Capitol for a year. After posting a huge loss, the owner, Misaki Tokura, threatens to close the shop if things don't turn around in three months. He promises that he will turn things around.  Though he believes that he has exhausted all options, so with nowhere else to turn, he reaches out to a friend, Chrono Shindou, hoping for a lifeline.The lifeline that Kamui hopes for is someone who he least expected but who he is greatly appreciative of, Satoru Enishi.Through this multi month journey, they work towards a better understanding of each other, of what it means to be a friend and have each others backs, and of what it means to dream in the face of the harsh American marketplace.





	1. The Final Chance: Help in the Time of Need

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to do an AU with Kamui running a shop. I always thought he could potentially be good at it. Enishi always seemed like an interesting character. I always looked forward to their screentime.
> 
> Oh well onward to a multi chapter journey into the world of cfvanguard. 
> 
> Hope I've characterized them adequately.

Kamui Katsuragi yawned as he stretched his arms across the counter-top. The glass display case rattled as he lay his head across his arms. He rolled his head as he gazed around the empty hobby shop. Memories of his time in a similar shop in Japan flooded his mind. It was a powerful memory that made him excited. He pictured it. Kids stood around many tables in the shop. They actively participated in a tournament Kamui organized. They screamed excitedly as they played and watched each other. He saw himself as he stood in the center. He cheered for them loudly.  

The feeling of nostalgia overwhelmed him. He raised his head, ran his fingers through his hair, and groaned in the empty shop. “What am I doing wrong?  Why is my shop so dead?”

He chuckled dryly when the only response he received was the roar of the HVAC coming to life. He briefly wondered if it could speak, what would it tell him. Would it offer him advice on how to make a hobby shop in America popular?

“Never stop,” a male singer’s voice rang from Kamui’s cellphone. “We chase the daydream, to see a better day.” He answered it steadfastly.

A woman screamed his name before he could even say a word. “Kamui! We need to talk, now!”

“Misaki. Hi, I haven’t heard from you in ages!” He nervously chuckled. He hoped to dispel the tense mood immediately. “What are you doing calling this late? It’s like midnight over there isn’t it?” He looked to a miniature red robot marching across the counter. On its face, it flashed the time. It was only noon.

“No one can sleep after seeing the numbers from your shop’s first year,” she said. Kamui vividly imagined her holding the crumpled papers, then flattening them out, holding them in the air and shaking them angrily. He was glad they weren’t video chatting.

“I can explain,” he said defensively.

She quickly interrupted him. “I don’t need your explanations. I need you to make changes immediately or else I’m closing your shop and bringing you back to Japan.”

“Misaki, you say that like it’s easy to do. You don’t know how hard it is over here. It’s not like Japan,” Kamui said. It felt like an excuse but it didn’t matter, it was the truth. The bad numbers Misaki spoke about were indicative of the dreadful state of card games and hobbies in America. There was no market. They were unpopular.

Misaki paused briefly. “Do I need to remind you what you told me when you volunteered for this?” Misaki was calm as she lowered her voice. “You promised me that you would make this work.”

“That was before,” Kamui paused. He remembered the fateful day when she excitedly announced to him and the other coworkers at Card Capital, that she was ready to expand internationally. She could barely contain her excitement as she told them that she was taking the first steps towards reaching her dream. After the successful establishment of the two Card Capital branches in Japan, she wanted to expand the brand to America. She wanted everyone around the world to see the love of card games and other hobbies. Everyone was excited for her. Kamui, overcome with emotions, quickly volunteered to go and manage the shop, promising to help make her dream a reality.

“What were you going to say?” She asked.

“Nothing!” He shouted as he realized he was still on the phone. He raised his hands in panic and giggled when he realized she couldn’t see him. “I can make it happen. I promised that I’d make Card Capital in America as good as Japan’s.”

“Good,” she clapped. “I’ll give you three months to turn things around.”

“What? Not another year?” Kamui pouted.

“I’m not running a charity. Every measure on your earnings statement is as red as your eyes.” Misaki quickly went into store owner mode as she listed her criticisms. Kamui placed the phone on the counter as he half listened to her use a lot of jargon about the business. It went above his head and was a distraction. He just wanted to have fun and share the love of hobbies to everyone not become the next tycoon.

“And with that” she exhaled an hour later. “I think you get the picture.”

“Okay,” Kamui said. “I’ll think of something.”

“Good, and Kamui.” Misaki’s voice calmed again. It was familiar and motherly. “Are you sure you got this, I can send some help your way if you need it.”

“No, I got it,” he added. “If you sent somebody else, it would send the store further into the red.”

She paused, almost as if she wanted to say something more. Eventually she just said a quick goodnight and hung up.

“Three months!” Kamui screamed. “That’s impossible! I need a miracle.”

He paced the shop looking for a solution. He stared at a display of a life size mechanical dragon. He noticed its wings which spanned several feet. Its feathers were like spokes of a wheel, sharpened like blades, and painted shiny emerald green. Its tail trailed off several feet on the ground wrapping gently around several displays of card games and models. In its hand were two massive plush swords. The attention to detail was commendable as they glittered in the sunlight. The golden accents around the hilt curved like that of a vintage clock. It was called an Epoch Maker Dragon. Lore declared that its sword could slash reality and make ones future become the new reality. The dragon triggered the memory of a friend in Japan, who loved this creature. Maybe he could help, Kamui thought. He called him immediately.

“Chrono!” Kamui shouted into the phone. “I need your help!”

“Kamui, what’s up,” Chrono said cautiously.

“My time is going to be up if I don’t turn things around.” Kamui leaned on a display with several replicas of other dragons while he spoke to his protégé and his previous coworker, Chrono Shindou. He was in his final year of high school. He worked part time at the card shop from which Kamui came.

“Shouldn’t you be calling Misaki?” Chrono quickly stated.

“I can’t do that!” Kamui panicked. “She would chew my head off if I said I couldn’t do it. She already gave me that ultimatum, which feels so impossible. I can’t do this.”

“Keep it together bro,” Chrono tried to reassure him, but Kamui rambled on.

“I can’t,” Kamui stared out the window. The streets were crowded with people going to every shop but his. The shops were teeming with people. Meanwhile, his shop was filled to the brim with figurines and plush toys. It was dispiriting and disappointing.

Chrono was worried as he sought clarification. “Kamui, is it something you need? Do I need to come there?”

“You can’t leave school for this, I can’t ruin your plans. I just need,” Kamui sighed. “Somebody to tell me what I’m doing wrong.”

There was a pause as it sounded like Chrono was helping a customer. When he came back, he quickly spoke. “Sorry about that, but yeah, I can help with that, I know just the person to ask.”

“You can? Thank you Chrono! I owe you one!” Kamui bowed, once again stopping as he realized he couldn’t be seen.

* * *

The next day, Kamui paced the shop mindlessly. All he could think about was Chrono. He held on to his phone like his life literally depended on it. Whatever Chrono would call about could make or break the success of the store. He needed it to succeed, he needed to prove to himself that he could do it. Not only did he need to help make Misaki’s dream a reality, but he needed to make his dream come to fruition. If he wanted to also share the love of card games to the worldwide audience, then he needed to succeed at running a card shop. Every small step was important on this ladder of success. If that meant having to ask his friends for a lifeline then so be it. However, in some parts of his mind, using a lifeline felt like cheating and almost dirty. If this worked, he would owe Chrono greatly.

Before these feelings of indebtedness could grow even larger than they already were Kamui shook them off. There was simply no time to feel embarrassed or ashamed of relying on a friend to help him out. Three months could go by incredibly fast. If he spent time wasted on thinking about how Chrono viewed him, then he could very well find himself on a plane back to Japan with more embarrassment and disappointment than he could ever imagine waiting on him at home. Asking for help was certainly the lesser evil and he could easily swallow his pride for now.

He sighed as he realized that he was just thinking in circles and perhaps thinking too much. Rather than focus his energies on thinking about these feelings he turned his eyes to looking around the shop. Surely there was something he could do while waiting on the phone call from his savior.

His eyes drifted to outside the store. He saw people milling about. They went from store to store, occasionally stopping and window shopping. Unfortunately, no one gave his store a second glance. He briefly wondered what made his store different than the others. It wasn’t as if his store was that much different than theirs, sure it may have one or two more plastic models and cars than theirs, but still, it was a store. It deserved to have the same amount of attention given to it.

Kamui grew agitated as he watched people pass his store. After the 15th person passed it by, he had enough. He quickly bent down and reached for a box he had all but forgotten. It was a set of hand drawn flyers he made when the idea of opening a store was still exciting and full of hopes and dreams. He drew a picture of one of card arts that made him a hardcore fan of card games. The figure on the card was known as Beast Diety, Ethics Buster, a creature whose lore implied that strength could defy all logic and reasoning. For Kamui, this had been a message that he took to heart and one that he believed would allow him to push through and establish himself in the challenging American marketplace. It was an inspiration.

The creature looked pretty cool. It was drawn in the shape of a human with a mechanical exoskeleton based suit. Green accents were around several of its limbs which glowed brightly on the foil background. It had claws that looked like blasters which actively shot a powerful blast of light, like it was embodying the idea of eliminating anything that stood in its way. Behind it, the clouds were ominous, with lighting flashing around. Overall, it was a picture which he thought would easily make anyone take a long glance at the flyer.

As he looked at it, the memories of the countless hours he poured into capturing the beauty of one such creature brought a tear to his eye. He smiled dumbly to himself as he fondly got lost in the memory. Though, as he dwelled on the memory he remembered why he put the flyers away. When he attempted to pass them out, of the 150 flyers he made back then, only 10 ever managed to be handed out. He was ignored.

Kamui decided he would try again today. What would he have to lose by spreading the word during this lunch time hour? Perhaps someone would take pride in seeing his handiwork. Perhaps someone would be inspired to finally check out what card games, figurines, and board games were all about?

* * *

“Hey,” Kamui shouted as he stood outside the store. He waved the flyers in his hand around. “Hey come to Card Capital for all your gaming needs.”

Most people walked by him and ignored him however, he remained persistent.

“Cardfight!! Vanguard, FutureCard Buddyfight, Weiß Schwarz, Luck & Logic, Dragonborne, even niche ones that you may or may not have heard about are here. Come check it out. Hey! You there, kid,” Kamui bent down to an adolescent as he thrust a flyer at him. “Don’t you want to play this game? Visit my shop.”

The kid took the flyer, flipped it over, then balled it up and tossed it to the nearest trash can. He stuck his tongue out at Kamui and sprinted off.

“Hey, that was rude!” Kamui screamed at him. It seemed that got the attention of other people. They stared at Kamui as he yelled at the brat who ran off.

“Sorry mister, but that looks so lame.” A kid spoke from Kamui’s side. Kamui jumped backwards as he stared bewildered at him. However he soon regained his composure. He needed to defend his interests.

“These are not lame, these are amazing.” Kamui pointed to the storefront window. Several life size models of different dragons and giant robots across many different franchises were in the display. His favorite Ethics Buster, looked at him. He felt almost empowered by it. How the kids could not see how amazing it was, was beyond his understanding.

“Does it move? Does it shoot lasers? Can it transform?” The kid asked. Before Kamui could respond, the kid showed Kamui his cellphone screen. A game with a transforming rocket ship blasting all sorts of incoming space debris was on the display. “This is why that is not cool, it can’t do any of this.”

Kamui stood speechless as he realized there was just no helping this kids. They were lost to him. They were lost in the world of video games. As he watched the kid walk off, he felt himself growing rejected and dejected. He felt defeated as he limped back inside the store. When he made it the counter, he collapsed in a heap of tears. Video games, those dumb video games, he thought, would be the reason why he would fail to succeed. They would be the reason why he would be sent back to Japan.

* * *

Kamui remained on autopilot for the next few days. He opened the shop, tending to keeping it orderly, then left exactly at 5pm. After the sorry display from the day he passed out flyers, he put all his hope in Chrono. Though, it seemed like he had disappeared off the face of the Earth. Any message or phone call went unanswered. Rather than worry, Kamui focused his energies on painting model cars around the store. He had to admit, playing around with the merchandise was one of the perks to owning a shop, and with it being so empty, it gave him free reign to everything.

Taking in the beauty of machines of all shapes and sizes was his passion. From the fantastical model 1/20 hybrid creatures merged with machinery, to the classical 1/10 die-cast model sports cars, trucks, and battleships, there was something fascinating about these objects. He felt one with them at times as he stared intently at their innards. Some had the option to be painted which gave him the chance to lose himself briefly as he intimately worked on them. He was in the midst of angling his paintbrush ever so carefully at a piston of a 1955 Ford Thunderbird engine, when the chime of the door rang.

“Hello?” A child asked.

“Hi, Welcome to Card Capitol!” Kamui beamed as he quickly yet carefully abandoned his paintbrush. “We have card games, board games, action figures, models, and cars, everything for your gaming needs.” He rose as he waved.

Kamui hoped he wasn’t cheesing too hard. However, it was a glorious moment. Someone had actually walked into the store! Someone had actually stopped in! Things were finally looking up.

“Mister, where are the video games?” the child paced around the store as if on a scavenger hunt.

Kamui’s smile faltered. “Video games?”

“Yes,” the kid said. “I thought this was a game store.”

“It is a game store.” Kamui said as his hands fell.

“No, it isn’t,” the kid said as he pointed to a display Kamui leaned against. It was packed with holographic cards. “No one plays with these lame things anymore.”

Kamui’s smile collapsed as he struggled to contain his feelings of disappointment. The kid turned around and almost walked out the shop when he was stopped at the door. He bumped into someone who Kamui hadn’t realized had entered. The boy jumped back as he looked at the young man with hair as red as Kamui’s eyes. The man’s blue eyes focused on the child below.

“I couldn’t help but overhear you when you said that no one plays these games anymore.” The man said as he removed a stack of cards from a holster on his shorts. “Do you want to see something more fun than a video game?”

“Cards aren’t fun.” The kid quickly said as he looked away.

“They can be as fun as you make them out to be. Doesn’t this look fun?” The man flipped one of the cards he held face up. The boy, unable to resist looking, turned. His eye’s brightened as he gripped the card and stared. Its gold foil glimmered in the light. The boy was impressed.

The card art showed a bear with long tendril like claws. It leapt from skyscraper to skyscraper. The sunset accented its features. Blue like colors glowed across its body, like it was mixed in with its skin. It was an image embodying the idea of a youth who could transform into a bear. He was a superhero.

“You want it?” The man asked.

“I do,” The kid said. He forgot about his desire for a video game.  “Are there more like it?”

“There are thousands of cards, all for you, and your friends to collect in this shop. And you know what? You can use your imagination to make whatever story you can for your cards. You can battle your friends to help make your cards rule the world.”

The boy quickly rushed over to Kamui. He bounced on the balls of his feet. His eyes were filled with sparkles as he tugged on Kamui’s pants leg. He pulled him towards the card display.

* * *

Once the boy checked out with a deck, Kamui quickly spoke to the red haired male. His name quickly came to mind. “You’re…Enishichi right? What are you doing here?”

“Enishi,” Enishi corrected. “I’m here to turn this dusty museum into a bustling hobby shop.” He blew dust off one of the displays.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You don’t have to be so blunt,” Kamui said before sneezing.

“It’s the truth, Kamui. With the way the store is arranged it’s no wonder you’ve had no customers. But more importantly, I’ll wager that that wasn’t the first time you’ve lost a customer to video games.” He turned to face Kamui. “But,” He paused. “I’m sorry,” he apologized apprehensively.

“Nah, its fine,” Kamui placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m glad you came.”

“But, I haven’t done anything yet.” Enishi looked at him questioningly.

“You have, you got me my first sale in ages. That meant so much to me,” Kamui chuckled. “And who knew Enishichi was so good with kids.”

Enishi looked at Kamui as if it wasn’t anything special.

“But what brought you this way, just visiting? Stopping in town? Or are you here for a Cardfight?” Kamui spoke excitedly. It was the first time he had someone that he knew in Japan visit. Though he was only an acquaintance of an acquaintance, he was closer than anyone he had gotten to know while in America.

“I’ve been,” Enishi seemed to speak carefully.  “Well, I’ve been assigned here as part of an internship for my university studies. Mamoru, from the Vanguard Association, offered me funding for on the job training here. He said Chrono asked him for a favor.”

“Chrono did, did he?” Kamui stated loudly.  Kamui smiled wildly as he quickly wrapped an arm around Enishi. Enishi stumbled as he looked at him.

“Hey Kamui?” Enishi asked. He was unaffected by Kamui’s emotions.

“I am,” Kamui responded. “I’m just so overcome with emotions, you just don’t know. You’re my life saver!”

“This is going to be a long three months,” Enishi stated as he rolled his eyes while staring at the crying Kamui.


	2. Otherworldly Help In A World Wrecked By Crisis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enishi uses his experience at the Dragon Empire Branch to suggest they make Card Capital more visible, by putting on a performance at a library. Kamui is apprehensive about it, fearful that the target audience is not right. Enishi though works his magic.

Kamui was in high spirits the next morning as he reached the store’s front door. Yesterday’s surprise visit from Enishi combined with scoring his first sale in ages left him feeling like he was on top of the world. Nothing could stop him now!

As he happily hummed while unlocking the door, he heard his name. He dropped the key ring as he was startled by Enishi who spoke from behind him.

“Dude,” Kamui said as he turned to look at him. He tried to hide his agitation as he met Enishi’s eyes, but it was a struggle.

Enishi bowed as he apologized. “Sorry, I thought you saw me. I didn’t mean to startle you like that.”

Kamui waved his hands prompting him to raise up. “No need to be so formal, man.”  Bystanders were looking at them like they were a comic duo. Kamui quickly felt his face heat up from the attention. From what he knew in America, bowing was an uncommon gesture almost only used in comic routines, he’d have to tell Enishi to be more considerate.

Enishi rose and spoke smartly, “a laid-back attitude is probably what led to your store being in such a predicament.”

Kamui had to hold down the scoff he wanted to make as he harshly jiggled the keys while looking at Enishi angrily. “And good morning to you,” he eventually said through clenched teeth.

If Enishi could sense the agitation, Kamui couldn’t tell though, what he could tell was that Enishi seemed partially occupied with a sheet of paper he gripped in his hand. Kamui noticed it from earlier but didn’t say anything wondering if he would bring it up or if it was trash. In any event, he returned to unlocking the door before proceeding inside and turning on the lights. Enishi followed him to the front counter before he stood awkwardly by Kamui.

“So.”

“I was thinking.”

They both spoke at the same time.

“You can.”

“No, you can.”

They continued to speak over each other before Kamui had enough.

“Enishi!” Kamui raised his voice as he harshly flipped the switches on the display cases. As they flicked to life, Enishi spoke as if unperturbed by the scene.

“After walking about the promenade, I noticed that your store was never mentioned by anyone. I thought it strange at first but realized that something was missing. Every other store had posters and flyers, or guys in costumes handing free stuff out,” Enishi said and paused.

“Yeah,” Kamui drawled. “About that.” His mind flicked to the flyers pushed under the counter.

“I take it you have no marketing budget or skills.”

“You don’t need to put it that way.”

“So, hear me out,” Enishi said, at least, considerate enough of Kamui’s feelings. He immediately softened his expression as he handed Kamui the paper in his hand.

As Kamui looked at it, Enishi continued to speak. “We need to get your shop out there. Since, I assume, you don’t have much spare money we need to use these free events to our advantage. Your local library is looking for people to do fun activities for kids in the afternoons.”

Kamui looked at the paper and back up at Enishi again.

“I don’t know, do people really go to libraries?” Kamui was never the library go’er only ever going when it was an assignment for class.

“That doesn’t matter,” Enishi said somewhat defensively. Kamui looked at him intently surprised that he was getting, by Enishi’s standards, fired up about it.

“Go on.” Kamui prodded him.

“We need to make ourselves visible. Just one person is all it takes. If we get one person in here, then maybe they’ll go and tell their friends. Then one becomes two.”

“And from there we’ll get tons and tons of people, right?” Kamui smiled at the possibilities. He could imagine it, the store full and bustling with people of all ages enjoying Cardfight!! Vanguard and more. It could be amazing.

Enishi cracked a smile. “Exactly Kamui.”

Kamui immediately tapped him on the shoulder. “Then let’s do it, let’s go man.”

“Hold up. The details.”

“Details?” Kamui brushed him off. “Nah I’ll leave that to you, you’re good with that type of stuff aren’t you? I’ll finish opening up.”

Enishi stood around unsure of what to do.

“Look I got it, you think of whatever. Well not whatever, we don’t really have much of a budget beyond what’s used for our stock…so…hm.” Kamui stood around in thought. “I know, can we do something with all these plush toys, kids would like that, you know? There in a bin in the back corner. Help yourself.” Kamui pointed as he made his way in the opposite direction.

Before Enishi could say something, the front door chimed signaling the arrival of the mailman and a box of figures.

“Ah I’ve been waiting for this, a new model to build.” Kamui said excitedly as he raced to the man.

Enishi gave up speaking to him and went to work thinking of what to do.

* * *

The next day found Enishi and Kamui sitting behind a hastily assembled miniature stage for their quickly thought out puppet show in the local library. With the lack of any funds and time, they made do with whatever they could find and modify overnight. They’d put on a show using the plush toys of Cardfight!! Vanguard monsters they had on location. While the cardboard boxes that lay around the shop were quickly painted and touched up with kid friendly designs by Kamui, Enishi, using his experience back in the Dragon Empire Branch of the Vanguard Association, drafted a play that they could act out. It’d taken a good portion of the previous day but it was worth it. Now, they just hoped the kids could imagine it and get into it even if for most of them it was their first experience to vanguard.

Kamui looked at the audience before they started and was surprised at the number of kids that were there. He’d never imagined half the room to be full of energetic kids on a summer afternoon. Back in his day…well, that was for another thought.

Enishi cleared his throat before signaling for the overhead lights to be dimmed. The natural lighting from the windows flowed in and served as a quaint little spotlight for their performance.

* * *

Imagine it! In a galaxy far away exists the planet of Cray, it sort of looked like Earth. There, evolution followed a different kind of logic. An assortment of all sorts of creatures arose. Dragons born with steel like plating coating their bodies, katana wielding lizards capable of running on water, giant robots capable of fighting with martial arts, nothing is impossible in this world. With such variety, perhaps at the hands of an intelligent designer who favored arts over the sciences, power ought to be imbalanced with one species attempting to rule the others, however, a nonverbal non-aggression pact exists with many of the races uniting under clans and staying in their respective territories.

Our story takes us to the southern hemisphere of Cray, where the mighty Star Gate lies, an artificial landmass created by the Nova Grapplers, a clan ranging from battling robots to mechas. There, the biggest fighting tournament on all of Cray has reached its peak. Today the strongest in all the nation will be crowned and given fame and riches.

In the center of the arena are two humanlike figures, one who is several feet taller than the teen in front of him. He is the fan favorite, Ethics Buster. His sleek steel armor, with a sheen that reflects every ray of the four suns blinds everyone in the fading sunlight. His massive shield like shoulder pads glows emerald, while his form fitting helmet glows green, chrome, and orange. The match-up is seemingly unfair. With someone so imposing how can the teen challenger, the Kungfu warrior, Bolta, fight him?

Bolta is not going to back down. He is up to the challenge. He puts up his fists as he jumps from foot to foot.  Sparks emanate from his shoes infused with the power of electricity.

Ethics Buster is unamused as he readies himself. His thrusters on his back roar to life. He unfurls his weapon, an oversized clawed gauntlet. As he thrusts it out, particles appear from nothingness and coalesce into a formless mass in its center. It generates a heat that grows ever hotter. If the metal were not made of galactic elements it would have melted. The full body armor, heated to the extreme, glows to match a color like the mass. The eye slots in the helmet, dim, now glow softly, changing from a light yellow to a deep green, a sign that he is charged and ready.

Ethics Buster nods towards his opponent, a move that causes the excited crowd to cheer louder. It is his nonverbal invitation to fight. Words aren’t exchanged as Bolta accepts the invitation.  He launches himself forward with as much force as his little feet and legs let him. Ethics Buster moves as well.

They fly blindingly fast towards each other. When they collide, a shockwave goes across the landmass. Metal panels that make up the ground collide with each other. Sparks fly and sizzle on contact making the ground appear as if it’s aflame.

Not taking a moment to recover from the recoil of the collision, both fighters land on the ground. Bolta makes the first move, putting forth all his energy into his attacks. He unleashes a relentless assault of electricity fueled kicks. Ethics Buster deflects them before he throws a swift right hook. Bolta jumps several feet back to dodge. He charges his most powerful electricity attack, a current that consistently causes his metal arms to vaporize the air around him.

Gone is the politeness from earlier. Ethics Buster immediately thrusts his gauntlet towards Bolta. The blinding formless energy in his hand would connect with Bolta’s body potentially incinerating him on the spot.

However, before they could interact, a black and purple portal opens between them. They leap backwards and stare. They watch it grow larger. Soon it is as big as a building. It looks eerily otherworldly. Feelings of malevolence and malicious ooze from it, paralyzing many in fear.

A deep voice laced with evil booms from within the portal. It’s voice echoes around the Star Gate. “I’ve come to end this farce.”

Red and black electricity sparks around the portal as dark haze flows from it. The roar of thousands of small red dragons drowns out the cackling electricity. As they emerge, black rings rotating around their tails and limbs cackle before coating the arena in an eerie glow.

The dragons fly while laughing maniacally. They head towards the spectators. The blackest flames imagined spew forth from their mouths incinerating anyone caught in its paths. Their claws claw anyone to shreds. Metallic limbs from robots, arms and legs from humans, tails and heads from dragons, all are flung as the dragons rip everyone to pieces.

Amidst the calamity the evil entity laughs hysterically, drowning out the screams and cries from the victims.

Bolta, standing in the center of the arena, speaks. Though childlike, his voice is authoritative. “Show yourself and stop this madness.”

“Madness?” The maniacal being scoffs. “Madness is what this world needs. Madness is the makeover I bring to your world. Logic, order, peace? Haha! Chaos, disorder, war, and destruction are tools to remake your world into one for me and my kind. We have no room for weaklings like you.”

“We have no room for beings like yours in our world, go back from whence you came.” Bolta says as he remains unperturbed in the face of such evil.

“We’re the Star-Vaders, greater beings and advanced lifeforms capable of intergalactic travel. Your planet, Cray, is abundant in all that we could need, why would we go back from where we came when your planet has what we need. If we eradicate the unnecessary lower lifeforms, we can thrive in peace.”

Bolta lashes out in anger. “You, who bring chaos, calamity, and ruin to us, want peace and harmony, don’t you get the incongruences of your aspirations?”

“You!” The evil voice is taken aback as it pauses. It immediately roars causing the numerous dragons to fly to the portal. They immediately land before it and use their bodies to make a platform.

“My Planck Dracokids, your diligence will be rewarded once this fool is eliminated.” The entity speaks proudly as the ground shakes and rumbles, a sign of it moving. The black and red lightning cackles and thunders as the portal doubles in size. Immediately the flash of something red and black appears across the entire expanse of the portal. The portal is immediately split in half vanishing instantly. Moments later massive white talons appear around the center of where the portal was. They grip the air and immediately pull it apart.

From the opening, a dragon covered by a coat of armor as large as the portal appears. Red and black circles are present on the massive horn on the head, and around the shoulder pads. The dragon holds its weapon, a scythe like it is weightless. It is nearly double its size.

“My name is Chaos Breaker Dragon, and you the honor of being my first victim, behold.”

Before it could even clench the scythe to move, Ethics Buster flies across the field ready to intercept it and save Bolta.

“You coward,” the dragon roars as it extends its other claw. Several black and red circles appear and fly at Ethics Buster. “Lock,” it says as it aims at him.

The circles encapsulate him stopping his movement.

Bolta immediately throws himself at the dragon, his electricity charged over capacity, the oil in his arms boiling, steam rising from every orifice in his body.

“Very well,” the dragon says as it swings the staff. “I shall reward you with an honorable death. May your ancestors.”

Cries from children somewhere in the arena disrupt the dragons speaking.

It continues to speak. “May your ancestors feel honored that your sacrifice.”

The cries from children grow ear piercing screams and wails. It interrupts the dragon yet again. The dragon coughs and continues again. “May your ancestors feel honored that your sacrifice was for the betterment of the world.”

Chaos Breaker Dragon swings the scythe with all its might. As it nearly comes down on Bolta, it is stopped by an invisible forcefield. The dragon tries again but its arm is once again stopped. It is like some supernatural force blocks it from hitting the child Kungfu fighter. It tries repeatedly but is stopped each time.

“Leave him alone,” a child’s voice from the heavens says.

“Fight someone your own size,” another kid says.

“Yeah, you big meanie, go away,” yet another kid says.

As the dragon focuses its energies on moving, Ethics Buster is freed. He hovers right to Chaos Breaker Dragon’s head. He moves unnaturally as he headbutts the dragon sending it flying out of the atmosphere and beyond.

* * *

“Really?” Kamui lightly jabbed Enishi beside him as he let the kids take the plush Ethics Buster toy from his hand.

“Sorry.” Enishi looked downwards as he let a kid take Chaos Breaker Dragon from him. “I lost myself. It reminded me of my time in the plays back home.”

“This is a kids’ toy show not a horror show, Enishichi.” Kamui lightly teased him before he chuckled. He watched the kids play with the assorted plush toys that were used for the show.

The laughter and excitement was adorable. Many seemed to enjoy the variety of creatures Cardfight!! Vanguard offered. Some embraced the toys like they were their lifelong partners, while others fought with them giving them all sorts of nonsensical names and abilities. The power of imagination was strong among them and he could briefly see glimpses of them on the planet Cray with their comrades.

“This was great a great idea,” Kamui said almost thoughtlessly.

Enishi nodded as he silently accepted the praise. His attention was focused on Kamui who seemed lost in the moment. He missed how Enishi meticulously watched his every facial expression taking note of the way his cheeks dimpled as he smiled and joined the kids in laughter, or the way he had water pooling on the corner of his eye, or even the way he started to add some sound effects to some of the kids moves, contorting his mouth and pursing his lips perfectly generating the sounds. When Enishi realized he was staring too much he turned away and focused on twiddling his thumbs while staring in deep thought.

“Well I’d say this was a success,” Kamui said a few minutes late. He quickly moved to break down the display. His slow movements gave away his reluctance at leaving soon. He realized that at some point they’d have to collect the toys.  Though he wished to give them to them, Enishi strongly hinted that they couldn’t do that. They didn’t have money to just give away inventory like that. Kamui pleaded with him even going as far to say they couldn’t sell used goods anyway, but Enishi remained as unmovable as usual, only saying they can still sell them at a deep discount. Any profit was better than none.

Enishi moved to help and commented a few minutes later. “When money is rolling in we can give them away for free. If you don’t have a problem with that?”

“Whoa really?” Kamui said perking up and hastening his pace. “I think that’d be great. Let’s just hope people come to our shop.”

“Our?”

“Yes, man, ‘our.’” Kamui giggled before he thrust his fist to Enishi’s chest. He planted it there as he spoke blissfully. “Starting today you’re officially part of the Card Capital family.”

Enishi stared at the outstretched hand before looking at Kamui’s beatific smile. He tried to maintain his stolid expression but he felt it start to crumble as Kamui continued to look at him. He wondered why he was offering him to be a part of the team. He was just an outside adviser, a contractor of sorts, someone hired on for the temporary period to right what was wrong. To be invited as part of the main team, even if Kamui was the only employee, wasn’t something he’d expected or even what he’d thought he wanted. Though as he felt like he’d want to turn him down and say it was unnecessary and that he was just doing his job because it was what Mamoru said he should, he couldn’t form the words. He almost felt peeved at himself for having these emotions.

“Thank you for having me,” Enishi said moments later.

Kamui grinned even brighter before returning to his work as if nothing just transpired. He hummed the happy ditty he’d hummed the previous day, off in his own world. Enishi was left to stare at him quizzically, fully wondering what he’d gotten himself roped into.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slow Burn indeed but this should be increasing in frequency. I still love this rare pair of the rare pairs okay and I miss that the series moved on from CFvanguardG :( My Enishi and my older Kamui, though neo new Vanguard at least still keeps Kamui The Great!
> 
> Battle and other in universe vanguard moments will occasionally pop up as well, I love the vanguard world and using my fav cards in random events. I may spin them off into separate related works if I figure out how to do it.
> 
> Thanks for reading.
> 
> Cards used this chapter:
> 
> Star-Vader Chaos Breaker Dragon  
> Star-Vader Planck Dracokid  
> Beast Diety, Ethics Buster  
> Kungfu Kid, Bolta


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